Thursday, February 5, 2015

Loyalty is a valuable commodity in a me-first business like pro hockey. It's rare that a team will stand by a long-serving player when his value on the ice isn't as high as it once was. The player is more likely to be shopped, bought out, demoted or simply not offered a contract. It's even more rare that a player will stand by a team when that team has tipped its hand about its own disloyalty to him. If a guy finds out the team wants him gone, he'll gather up his gear and his pride and get out of town. Jerry Lewis once said:

"I have a loyalty that runs in my bloodstream, when I lock into someone or something, you can't get me away from it because I commit to that thoroughly. That's in friendship, that's a deal, that's a commitment. Don't give me paper. I can get the same lawyer who drew it up to break it. But if you shake my hand, that's for life."

He might have been writing about Josh Gorges.

Gorges is a hard-knocks type; the kind of guy about whom hockey shows like to produce glossy TV profiles. Never drafted and undersized for an NHL defenceman, he convinced the San Jose Sharks to take a chance on him through his all-heart willingness to throw himself into the path of harm for his teammates' sake. He came to Montreal in 2007 when the Sharks wanted to make a playoff run and decided Craig Rivet would be the solid blueline presence they needed to shore up their defence. At the time, Gorges was bewildered that the team he thought had committed to him would let him go like that.

Gorges, however, was young and he bounced back, throwing all his love and loyalty into becoming a Canadien. He was the guy who took a puck off his head to keep it out of Montreal's net. He was the one who stood up in the room before Game Seven against the Penguins in the 2010 playoffs and gave the passionate speech that spurred his team to victory against a much stronger opponent. And it was Gorges who raised his hand when team management asked for a veteran to open his home to rookie Brendan Gallagher, who then lived with Gorges for two seasons. He was proud to be a Canadien, and that was rewarded in the "A" the team put on his chest and the six-year, $3.9-million per year contract they gave him on New Year's Day, 2012. Needless to say, he was not expecting to be on the trading block once again, just two and a half years later.

Yet, Bergevin sized up his lineup last summer and realized something had to give. The defence needed an upgrade. It had too many left-handers and only P.K. Subban on the right. The corps wasn't very big or offensively minded either. So, Bergevin looked around for a big, right-handed guy who could generate some points from the back end. He set his sights on 6'5" Cody Franson in Toronto. Franson's big, a right-handed shot and can generate offence, even if his defensive sense is sometimes lacking.

So, Bergevin had to dicker with Dave Nonis to find a deal that worked for both teams. Based on his lack of offense, his relatively small size and, ultimately, the contract Bergevin had given him, which would eventually hurt the Habs cap-wise, Gorges was the guy picked to go. Toronto needed a real leader and a guy who would play a stay-at-home role lacking in their defence corps. It looked like a done deal.

Then loyalty, in the form of Gorges' no-trade clause, came charging in to bite the Habs on the ass. It was a funny situation. Gorges vetoed the trade because he couldn't bear to play for the leafs. Why? Because he had given his all to the Habs and couldn't stomach the idea of suiting up for a team his loyalty to Montreal had taught him to hate. In the end, though, the loyalty Gorges felt for the Canadiens ended up screwing them over. Oh, the irony!

Some traitor (likely on the Toronto side, as Bergevin has always been extremely discreet) leaked the offer and Gorges was poleaxed by the idea that his beloved Habs wanted him gone. At that point, he had to go, even if it wasn't to the leafs. His idea of loyalty went both ways, and the idea that Bergevin would let him go broke his heart. So, he nixed the trade to Toronto. That meant Bergevin had to find some other place for him, which every GM in the league knew. Bergevin was over a barrel. He couldn't keep a guy who felt irrevocably betrayed, so he had to take whatever he could get. That turned out to be a Buffalo second-rounder, instead of the usable NHL D-man he really needed.

In turn, the right-handed, offensive-style D-man-shaped hole on defense remained. Enter, Tom Gilbert. Gilbert hasn't been as bad as a lot of critics say he has, but he's not been the big improvement the team needed over Gorges either. Now, even though the Habs have been having a pretty good season, the trade deadline looms and Bergevin is still stuck with the problem of improving his defense before the playoffs start. The issue that should have been solved...or at least addressed with his first choice...in the Gorges trade is still an issue.

Franson, who might have really helped the Habs, is now having a strong season on a crappy leafs team, likely looking to cash in as a much-coveted 27-year-old UFA this summer. Gorges is suffering through a dreadful (beating the Habs notwithstanding) season with a terrible Sabres team, losing almost every night. That's got to be hurting his competitive spirit. He's got the second-worst plus/minus in the league and has hit 30 years of age without a chance to win the Cup in his career unless he's traded yet again.

So today, what looked like admirable loyalty back in June has thrown a wrench into Bergevin's plans to improve the Canadiens. The problem now is the price for every decent player who could fit the bill in Montreal has tripled over what it would have cost to get Franson back in the summer. That could mean the Habs will have to be out on the bidding for likely players at the deadline. Having already spent one roster player upgrading that position, Bergevin must think twice about trading another NHLer, and more than twice about throwing picks or prospects away on a deadline deal. The more you think about it, the more it appears Gorges did the team he allegedly loved a big disservice.

Loyalty is an important thing on a hockey team. Without it, players put themselves first on the ice and the team falters. The problem is, NHL hockey is also a business and when emotion, whether on the player's side or management's, interferes in decisions necessary for the good of the group, it hurts the team. That's what happened in the Gorges trade, and now the Habs are paying the price of misguided loyalty.

Or maybe Gorges lashed out after feeling betrayed in the only way he could. There's a conversation to be had about the prevalence of no-trade clauses in this story, but the end result is the same. The Canadiens now have fewer options, just because a loyal soldier said he wouldn't go when told to...turning out not to be so loyal after all. So, perhaps real loyalty in hockey isn't just rare. Maybe it's just a nice idea.

7 comments:

Nice story as always but one fact is in error as it was the goat (P.G.) who signed Georges since M.B. didn't start with the team til summer of 2012. I am guessing that made it easier to want Georges to go since he wasn't his guy but who knows. As always I do love your very thoughtful and inciteful articles

Gorges didn't owe the Habs jack shit. Don't make him out to be a bad guy just because he wanted the Habs to live up to the contract that they signed him to. Loyalty works both ways, Habs wanted him gone, is that being loyal? No. They made a decision that they felt was best for the team. Gorges made a decision that he felt was best for him. C'est tout.

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My name is Leigh Anne Power, and I am a Habs fan. I'm kind of obsessed, so even though the world doesn't need another Habs blog, I can't help it. If you choose to follow this blog on Twitter, it's at @habsloyalist. The link's below.